Exploring Life & Business with Rahmi Olgac of Pie Cafe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rahmi Olgac

Hi Rahmi, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born on a small farm behind large mountains where my family made, planted, or raised most of what we ate, from wheat to lamb, from cheese to butter. Since we didn’t have access to a grocery store, we learned to use simple ingredients to create good food.

In school, my teachers found out I was a fast learner; they encouraged me to pursue higher education. I completed my four-year college degree in three years and started working as a school counselor in a public school. Meanwhile, my university offered me a full scholarship to study in the United States.

While I was doing my graduate study in Mental Health Counseling at Cleveland State University, I learned two important life skills: empathic listening and academic research.

In the last year of my studies, I needed some extra money. I got a part-time job at a pizzeria delivering pizza. While I was not on the road delivering, I was preparing and baking pizzas. In this job, I found out there is a lot of creativity involved in baking. I loved the art of crafting a pizza; simple ingredients, delicious results.

I found a local pizza shop going out of business. I took over the lease with a borrowed couple thousand dollars and started my first small business adventure. After a lot of research and experimentation, I offered only what I personally liked. Not surprisingly, my customers shared the same taste, liked what I offered, and they came back.

Good ingredients made good food, good food made happy customers, and happy customers brought prosperity.

Now I run a bigger restaurant on the same principle; I bake the pizzas I like and serve the drinks I enjoy. Pie Cafe is a full pizza shop with a full espresso bar; serving hot, iced, and frozen lattes, frappes, and smoothies. We are extending our bakery offerings, too.

As a person with ADHD, I continuously need to learn new things. Besides being a pizzaiolo and barista, I am a licensed real estate agent helping my clients buy, sell, and invest in real estate. I spend my free time in my woodshop creating scroll saw art.

As a local and small business, we aim to be a good neighbor. We provide a clean, peaceful place to enjoy good food and good drinks. We call our customers “neighbors.” We participate in fundraising for our local organizations as much as we can.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Running a small business is not easy. in fact more than 80 percent of local pizzerias fail in less than two years. Opening a pizza shop without speaking much English was an extra struggle I had to overcome.

That being said; life is an echo of what you put out there. Our customers saw the hard work and the love we put in our shop and responded accordingly. Our neighbors are our biggest asset. They had many options but they chose to support us by being a regular customer, by writing hundreds of five star online reviews, spreading the word.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Pie Cafe?
We’re a small & local pizza shop and coffeehouse/bakery!
In the back room of our restaurant we serve hand crafted artisan pizzas, Oven Baked Subs, Hand Breaded Chicken Tenders and Wings.
In the front room of our shop, we serve freshly baked pies, pastries, specialty coffees, and more.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Reading fiction has always helped me regulate my anxiety and improve my understanding of people. I enjoy all kinds of fiction but am especially fond of historical novels from Ken Follett, Amin Maalouf, and Orhan Pamuk,

Contact Info:

• Website: https://PieCafe.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/piecafevinest
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piecafevinest
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PieCafeVineSt
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/pie-cafe-willowick
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@piecafevinest